Powerball Statistics And Facts That Will Blow Your Mind

 
Stats • December 13, 2023
 
Powerball is one of the most popular lottery games in the U.S. Millions of people line up every week to get their Powerball lottery ticket, dreaming of winning the big jackpot. Why is it so popular? Two reasons-
  •  #1 – The cost to buy a ticket is just $2
  •  #2 – Jackpots often exceed $1 billion
Powerball statistics show that most people can’t resist the low-risk, high-reward potential that the Powerball lotteries “seem” to offer. Even if the chances of winning are incredibly slim. From the odds of winning to who’s playing Powerball and where it all began, the following Powerball statistics will blow your mind!

Key Powerball Statistics

Powerball quickly became one of the most popular U.S. lottery games. It has continued to attract new players almost every year since its launch across the country. These are the key Powerball Statistics you need to know: The highest Powerball lottery win ever is $2.04 billion, which was won on 8 November 2022 in California The United States Powerball Lottery was launched in 1992 and has only grown in sales since launching Powerball tickets are officially sold in 45 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands 5 U.S. states (Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah) don’t have Powerball state lotteries at all Powerball tickets cost as little as $2 per play, which is what makes them so appealing Only 50% of all ticket sales go to funding the Powerball prizes and jackpots 35% of all ticket sales go to causes and charities supported by lotteries across the country 6% of ticket sales go to retailer commissions, and 9% of ticket sales go to operating expenses of the Powerball lottery organization As a Powerball jackpot winner, you have the choice to receive the monetary prize paid in 30 payments over 29 years or as a single lump sum payment The overall odds of winning any Powerball prize is about 1 in 24.9 But the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot is just 1 in 292.2 million Even though most people understand how unlikely it is for them to win the Powerball jackpot, it doesn’t stop them from playing. Lotteries are considered to be one of the most addictive and passive forms of gambling today.

States With The Most Lottery Ticket Sales

Florida was the state with the largest lottery sales, generating a staggering $9.08 billion last year. Why is the lottery so popular in Florida? The key factor behind these eye-popping numbers is convenience. Florida has a lottery system that can be accessed from:
  •  Local stores
  •  Online sites
With such easy access and the promise of extremely large jackpots – it’s no surprise that they are the biggest lottery state overall. Florida also has the 3rd largest population by state in the United States. These are the latest lottery statistics on the top 15 states by lottery sales: New York comes in second place with $8.59 billion in lottery sales, and California claims third with $8.42 billion. Interestingly, New York had the highest lottery sales in 2020 at $9.7 billion. That’s a significant drop of almost 20%. This was likely due to:
  •  The closure of outlets during the COVID-19 pandemic
  •  The popularity of games like Powerball dropped slightly within the state
Americans spent a huge $105.26 billion on lottery tickets in 2021, making it the most popular form of gambling in the United States by a long way.

States With The Most Powerball Winners

45 U.S. states have a Powerball plus…
  •  Washington D.C.
  •  Puerto Rico
  •  The Virgin Islands
Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah do not currently have a state lottery. Mississippi recently added a state lottery with the Lottery Law passed in 2018. The first Mississippi Powerball tickets were sold in January 2020. But what about Powerball jackpot wins? Indiana has the most wins, with a total of 39 Powerball jackpot winners since the start of the lottery in 1992. Here are the rankings of the number of jackpots won in each state: Missouri comes in second place with a total of 31 Powerball jackpot winners. Minnesota takes third place with 22 winners. Want a more visual view? This graphic from Powerball.net shows the distribution of winners by state across the U.S. The darker the color, the more jackpot winners that state has had. There have been a total of 401 Powerball jackpot winners since it launched. The top 5 states make up 32.45% of all jackpot winners in the country.

Powerball Players Demographics Statistics

How many people play Powerball in the United States? 57% of Americans buy at least one or more lottery tickets every single year. That’s about 181 million players each year. You might have heard that the lottery is for older adults… The Journal of Gambling Studies found that 69% of people aged 31 to 40 purchase lottery tickets. The next biggest was 66% of 18 to 29-year-olds. That means about 2 in every three people aged 18 to 40 buy lottery tickets in the United States. So what about older people? People aged 61 or older are the least likely to buy lottery tickets overall. About 54% of people in this age bracket buy at least one lottery ticket yearly. That’s about 13% less than people aged 18 to 40. The truth is that younger people are actually more likely to buy lottery tickets far more often than older people. Single Americans also spend less on the lottery. The same report from the Journal of Gambling Studies found that single Americans buy fewer lottery tickets than Americans with partners. This is opposite to what most people would have predicted. The Powerball lottery also has a very specific demographic regarding income earners. Based on the report:
  •  56% of people who make between $36,000 and $89,999 per year buy at least one lottery ticket annually.
  •  53% of people who make more than $90,000 annually do the same.
This is where it gets interesting… Only 40% of people who earn less than $36,000 per year buy lottery tickets. Most people think that lower-income earners are most likely to buy lottery tickets. But the truth is that middle-income earners are the most likely to play the lottery overall. But that’s just looking specifically at who buys at least one lottery ticket per year. Other Powerball lottery studies have shown that lower-income earners buy fewer lottery tickets but actually spend the most money. This means that the lower-income earners who buy lottery tickets will get multiple tickets per lottery draw. How big is the difference? The bottom fifth of income earners in the United States spent the most on lottery tickets by more than double. They spend an average of $433 per year, while the top five spend $193 per year. That’s a big difference!

Most Common Powerball Numbers & Consecutive Pairs

Where there’s gambling, there are also statistics to analyze – even if they have no real effect on your likelihood of winning. These are the most common main numbers in the Powerball lottery: 32 is the most common ball number overall. This is followed by 39. What about Powerball numbers? These are the top 6 most common Powerball numbers since the beginning of the Powerball lottery:

Powerball NumberTimes Drawn

Another thing that lots of Powerball players look at is the most common pairs. The term “pairs” refers to 2 lottery numbers drawn right after each other from the same draw. The most common pairs are simply the pairs of balls that have been drawn most after each other since the beginning of the Powerball lottery. These are the top 6 most common pairs in the Powerball lottery at the moment: Another statistic that Powerball players are interested in is the most common consecutive pairs. These are pairs of balls that follow each other consecutively. For example, if you have a draw where ball number 33 comes up, followed directly by ball number 34. These would be considered consecutive pairs. Here are the most common consecutive pairs in the United States Power ball lottery: Is knowing these Powerball statistics likely to increase your chances of winning? Lotteries ultimately have fixed odds. That means that the odds of you winning any Powerball lottery are inherently the same in every draw because past results have zero bearing effect on future performance. What are the odds of you actually winning the lottery?

Odds Of Winning The Lottery

Here are the hard facts about winning the lottery: The odds of winning the Powerball lottery jackpot in the United States is 1 in 292.2 million. The odds of winning the Mega Millions lottery jackpot in the United States are even worse at 1 in 302.5 million. To help you better understand these Powerball statistics… The odds of you becoming an Olympic athlete is about 1 in 500,000. The chances of you getting hit by a meteorite are about 1 in 700,000. The likelihood of you getting struck by lightning is about 1 in 10,000,000. Now think about it – How many people do you know that have had just one of those things happen to them? Even in Europe, the odds of winning the EuroMillions lottery is about 1 in 139.8 million. The bottom line is that only a few people will win the jackpot. Most people lose. Remember – there have only been 401 total Powerball lottery jackpot winners since it was started in 1992. Think of the hundreds of millions of people who have played every year and not even come close to winning.

How Do Lottery Winners Spend Their Millions?

When people do actually win the lottery jackpot, they often win hundreds of millions and sometimes billions. So where does all that money get spent? 83% of lottery winners share their newfound wealth with at least one family member. Siblings are most likely to receive some cash, followed by:
  •  Children
  •  Parents
40% of lottery jackpot winners also choose to donate to charity. Clearly, the priority of winners is to take care of their families and even others in need. But lottery jackpot winners also (naturally) like to buy new things. 2 out of every 3 (66%) lottery winners buy a new home. Interestingly, 25% of lottery winners move to an entirely new country. 20% of lottery winners decide to take a vacation outside their home country for the first time, and just 7% of lottery winners buy an RV to travel around in. The priority for most winners is new homes and vacations. Only 3% of winners with children decide to move their kids from a public to a private school. Education tends not to be at the top of the list for lottery winners.

Wrapping It Up

There you have it! A complete list of the latest Powerball statistics and facts.

What are the big takeaways?

The Powerball lottery is one of the most popular lottery games in the U.S.:
  •  It’s played by over 181 million people every single year.
  •  It’s one of the most popular forms of gambling in the U.S.
But the truth is you aren’t likely to win. The odds of winning the Powerball lottery jackpot in the United States is 1 in 292.2 million. Even though the ticket prices are as cheap as $2, most people will still be throwing money down the drain.